Honors Student Grants
First-Year Honors Mentor Program Grant
Grants up to $250 (individual) or $500 (group) are available to support research expenses incurred by students participating in the First-Year Honors Mentor Program. Requests for funds are made jointly by student(s) and mentor.
Application deadline: February 18, 2021
Information & guidelines
Details on eligibility criteria, funding policies, and application and award procedures
Excel (.xls) file to be completed electronically and submitted via CyBox; additional instructions are provided on the form and in the information and guidelines
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Diana Mulder, Microbiology & International Agriculture
Faculty mentor: Larry Halverson – Plant Pathology & Microbiology
Project name: Characterizing a synthetic rhizosphere system to evaluate bacterial colonization of roots and their impact on plant health
Hailee Christensen, Chemical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Jacek Koziel - Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering
Project name: The Nose Knows! petrichor and the smell of soil
Ryan Ungs, Chemical Engineering
Cameron Cimino, Chemical Engineering
Cali Donkersloot, Engineering
Faculty mentor: Jacek Koziel – Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering
Project name: Removing barriers for adoption of biochar treatment to mitigate gaseous emissions from manure: can common binders improve the performance of pelletized biochars?
Caleb Skow, Biology
Arilyn Tegtmeier-Oatman, Global Resource Systems
Faculty mentor: Ajay Nair – Horticulture
Kurt Brase, Agricultural Engineering
Andrew Asama, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Brian Steward – Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering
Project name: Exploring magnet orientation on magnetic arrary filtration performance on contaminated hydraulic oil
Ivy College of Business
College of Design
Grace Estenson, Graphic Design & Marketing
Faculty mentor: Raluca Iancu - Art and Visual Culture
Project name: 3D Printing applications for letterpress printing
Aidan Furley, Aerospace Engineering
Faculty mentor: Raluca Iancu - Art and Visual Culture
Project name: Explorations in natural inks and paper engineering with moku hanga (Japanese water-based relief printing)
Victoria Meeks, Pre-Industrial Design
Ella Kannegiesser, Pre-Architecture
Madeline Keough, Materials Engineering
Ayla Schiller, Pre-Architecture
Faculty mentor: Verena Paepcke-Hjeltness – Industrial Design
Project name: Using sketchnoting as a methodology for class reflection
College of Engineering
Taylor Moore, Electrical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Rena Biswas – Electrical & Computer Engineering & Physics
Project name: Novel water desalination methods
Robert Downs, Chemical & Biological Engineering
Faculty mentor: Eric Cochran - Chemical & Biological Engineering
Project name: Improved rejuvenation of asphalt through use of modified soybean oil
Vanessa Hupp, Chemical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Eric Cochran - Chemical & Biological Engineering
Project name: Additive manufacturing of cyanate ester
Elena Knops, Chemical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Eric Cochran - Chemical & Biological Engineering
Project name: Green no added formaldehyde glycerol based wood adhesive
Victoria Kyveryga, Chemical & Biological Engineering
Faculty mentor: Eric Cochran - Chemical & Biological Engineering
Project name: Bioadvantaged nylon from biomass ferementation
Anna McCaslin, Chemical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Eric Cochran - Chemical & Biological Engineering
Project name: Additive manufacturing of cyanate ester
Cassandra Volpe, Chemical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Eric Cochran - Chemical & Biological Engineering
Project name: Utilization of ground tire rubber for energy efficient pavements
Peter Micksch, Materials Engineering
Faculty mentor: Jun Cui – Materials Science & Engineering
Project name: Stabilization of Cu-based shape memory alloy for air-less tire application
Kiah Christopherson, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Ethan Secor – Mechanical Engineering
Project name: Production of near field communication (NFC) coils using an aerosol ink jet printer
John Hiker, Aerospace Engineering
Michael Miller, Aerospace Engineering
Sara Stewart, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Hui Hu – Aerospace Engineering
Project name: Development of innovative anti-/de-icing strategies for UAS icing mitigation and protection
Nicholas Groth, Mechanical Engineering
Heather Junk, Electrical Engineering
Elizabeth Jones, English & Women and Gender Studies
Faculty mentor: Reza Montazami – Mechanical Engineering
Project name: Phase-Change Material (PCM)
Fiona O’Doherty, Mechanical Engineering
Nathan Osberg, Mechanical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Reza Montazami – Mechanical Engineering
Project name: Soft flexible electronic
Ian Seiler, Mechanical Engineering
Madison Vetter, Software Engineering
Faculty mentor: Reza Montazami – Mechanical Engineering
Project name: Machine learning framework in monitoring and optimization of high-resolution E-jet printing
Madison Karamagianis, Chemical Engineering
Flora Kafunda, Biological Systems Engineering
Lindsey Weymouth, Chemical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Ian Schneider – Chemical & Biological Engineering
Project name: Functionalization of alginate hydrogel system and determining the mechanical properties
Dane Holmes, Undeclared Engineering
Jordan Steinmetz, Undeclared Engineering
Faculty mentor: Hartanto Wibowo – Civil, Construction & Environmental Engineering
Project name: Examing the effect of steel fibers in concrete
Shanna Fellows, Civil Engineering
Samantha Schmitt, Undeclared Engineering
Faculty mentor: Hartanto Wibowo – Civil, Construction & Environmental Engineering
Project name: Demonstrating the potential use of shape memory alloys in seismic design
College of Human Sciences
Megan Smith, Biochemistry
Faculty mentor: Aude Watrelot – Food Science & Human Nutrition
Project name: Evaluation of the formation of polymeric pigments in wine color stability
Quincey Bauman, Biology
Ryan Schiltz, Kinesiology & Health
Faculty mentor: Li-Shan Chou – Kinesiology
Project name: Effects of arch support insoles on knee joint loading and gait balance control
Alexandra Crowson, Open Option
Frances Loeffelholz, Dietetics & Nutritional Sciences
Elizabeth Marlow, Kinesiology
Sarah Petersen, Kinesiology
Faculty mentor: Andrew Pitchford – Kinesiology
Project name: Associations of motor competence, balance, physical activity, and obesity in neurotypical children
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Matthew Crabb, Electrical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Aaron Sadow - Chemistry
Project name: Catalyst screening in ring-closing alkane metathesis (RCAM) of Poly-alphaolefins
Natalee Thompson, Biological Premedical Illustration
Faculty mentor: Donald Sakaguchi – Genetics, Development & Cell Biology
Project name: Neurotransmitter modulation of neural stem cell differentiation
Jamie Smith, Open Option
Zoe Dekruif, Linguistics
Faculty mentor: Evgeny Chukharev-Hudilainen – English
Project name: ProWrite: Biometric technology for improving college students’ writing processes
Daniel Howell, Chemistry
Henry Thomas, Chemistry
Gabriel Clark, Chemical Engineering
Faculty mentor: Wenyu Huang – Chemistry
Project name: Well-defined nanomaterials for heterogeneous catalysis
Prescott Jeckel, Biochemistry, Biophysics, & Molecular Biology
Annika Miller, Animal Science
Faculty mentor: Nicholas Peters – Plant Pathology & Microbiology
Project name: Virus discovery and characterization
Ella Grzybowski, Political Science & Environmental Studies
Jennifer Godbersen, English
Faculty mentor: Angela Powers – Greenlee School of Journalism/Communication
Project name: Civility research: media coverage of Black Lives Matter
Mentor grant recipients from previous years are listed in the Grant Recipient Archive
University Honors Program Grants
Grants of up to $750 are available to help cover project expenses for Honors capstone projects.
Application deadlines:
Fall: October 13 and November 10
Spring: February 2 and March 30
Information & guidelines
Details on eligibility criteria as well as funding, application, and award procedures
University Honors Program Grant application
This is an online application that routes through Qualtrics for electronic signatures
Jacob Gasper
Faculty mentor: Shelby Doyle - Architecture
Project name: Architectural Clay Formwork
Dhaval Ghone
Faculty mentor: Eric Henderson - Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology
Project name: Creating and Testing of Cas9 Delivering DNA Origami Nanosystem
Hannah Gorton
Faculty mentor: Sekar Raju – Marketing
Project name: Satisfaction with Major Selection
Claire Jager
Faculty mentor: Jason Gillette - Kinesiology
Project name: Effects of Response Time on ACL Injury Risk Factors during Single-Leg Hopping in Post-ACL Reconstruction in Individuals
Maria Lea
Faculty mentor: Carly Manz – Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology
Project name: College Students and Flu Vaccinations
Stefan Peng
Faculty mentor: Don Sakaguchi – Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology
Project name: Differentiation of Neural Stem Cells through Electric Field Stimulation
David Reynolds
Faculty mentor: Raquel Espin Palazon - Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology
Project name: Development of a Microfluidic Platform for Embryonic Zebrafish Confocal Microscopy Imaging
Nathan Robillard
Faculty mentor: Marian Kohut - Kinesiology
Project name: Monocyte Inflammatory Pathways in Depression
Jacob Schmieder
Faculty mentor: Laurie Smith Law - Honors Program
Project name: Sound Sensitive Lights for Instruments
Chirayu Shukla
Faculty mentor: Elizabeth Stegemoller - Kinesiology
Project name: The Storm
Karley Spahn
Faculty mentor: Jason Gillette - Kinesiology
Project name: Effects of Athletic Tape on the Ankle Joint and Ground Reaction Forces During Jump-Landing Task
Brian Todey
Faculty mentor: Greg Curtzwiler – Food Science & Human Nutrition
Project name: Determining the Viability of Paper and Non-Synthetic Wax for Food Packaging
Alexander VandeLoo
Faculty mentor: Kristin Rozier - Aerospace Engineering
Project name: Robotic Development
Jack Wilgenbusch
Faculty mentor: Ashley Goreczny – Marketing
Project name: Understanding SEO Strategy: Analyzing Paid Versus Organic Keyword Searches
Previous UHP grant recipients are listed in the Grant Recipient Archive
Stewart Research Award
Grants of up to $750 are available to help cover project expenses for Honors capstone and other research projects. Preference for these awards will be given to research that is likely to result in a student-authored or coauthored publication.
Application deadlines:
Fall: November 10
Spring (funds permitting): February 2
Information & guidelines
Details on eligibility criteria as well as funding, application, and award procedures
Stewart Research Award application
This is an online application that routes through Qualtrics for electronic signatures.
Dhaval Ghone
Faculty mentor: Eric Henderson - Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology
Project name: Creating and Testing of Cas9 Delivering DNA Origami Nanosystem
Stefan Peng
Faculty mentor: Don Sakaguchi – Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology
Project name: Differentiation of Neural Stem Cells through Electric Field Stimulation
David Reynolds
Faculty mentor: Raquel Espin Palazon - Genetics, Development, and Cell Biology
Project name: Development of a Microfluidic Platform for Embryonic Zebrafish Confocal Microscopy Imaging
Previous Stewart Award recipients are listed in the Grant Recipient Archive
Honors Student Enrichment Grant
Grants of up to $300 are available to help cover travel and/or registration expenses to present research at a national conference, or expenses related to the preparation of a manuscript for publication. Preference will be given to students presenting at an academic or professional conference.
Application deadlines:
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, funds permitting. Once all funding has been allocated for a given academic semester, the website will be updated and no additional applications will be accepted until the following semester.
Information & guidelines
Details on eligibility criteria as well as funding, application, and award procedures
Student Enrichment Grant application
This is an online application that routes through Qualtrics for electronic signatures
Darcy Bonds, Horticulture - Participation in the National Conference on Undergraduate Research
Faculty mentor: Jacek Koziel
Project name: Improving the sustainability of animal and crop production agriculture: evaluation of biochar-swine manure mixture impact on soil nutrient availability and plant uptake
William Crow, Biology - Participation in the National Conference on Undergraduate Research
Faculty mentor: Clark Coffman
Project name: Creating a transgenic drosophila line expressing mRFPruby in primordial germ cells
Elizabeth Cuvelier, Elementary Education - Participation in the National Conference on Undergraduate Research
Faculty mentor: Jacob Meyer
Project name: Mental health among college athletes
Haley Dostalik, Genetics - Participation in the National Conference on Undergraduate Research
Faculty mentor: Caroline Lawrence-Dill
Project name: Functional annotation of the grape genome
Jacob Gasper, Architecture - Participation in the National Conference on Undergraduate Research
Faculty mentor: Shelby Doyle
Project name: Architectural clay formworks
Previous Student Enrichment Grant recipients are listed in the Grant Recipient Archive
Dr. Robert M. Melampy Grant
A Grant of up to $500 is available to students in Animal Science to help cover project expenses related to the research they are doing within their field of study. Preference will be given to students participating in the First-Year Honors Mentor Program, and only one Melampy Grant will be awarded each year for a Spring or Summer term.
Application deadline: February 18, 2021
Online application form: Melampy Grant application
Shelby Nechkash
Shelby Nechkash is a sophomore in animal science with a minor in sustainability from Highland, Wisconsin. She is a member of the Collegiate Chapter of Pheasants Forever and Ames Area Collegiate Hunting Club and looks forward to becoming a CALS Ambassador and part of the Animal Science Peer Mentor Program.
Shelby began doing research with Associate Professor of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Kurt Rosentrater as part of the First-Year Honors Mentor Program. Her initial project compiled and summarized environmental impact data for various packaging materials, including those used for pet food. She quickly gained an interest in research on sustainability. Her current project analyzes the environmental impacts of the production and use of DDGS (Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles) and other ethanol coproducts in animal feeds. Specifically, she is looking at the physical and chemical differences of distiller’s grains between companies and manufacturing processes to determine if there are significant differences in quality or composition that would affect their use in animal feeds.
Previous Melampy Award recipients are listed in the Grant Recipient Archive
Chi-Wai Ho Principles of Community Awards
Grants are available to help fund research or activities that promote understanding and mutual respect among people of different races, backgrounds, and experiences. Projects that have tangible or measurable results and have the potential for a recurring impact will be prioritized.
Application deadlines:
Fall: October 13 and November 10
Spring: February 2 and March 30
Information & guidelines
Details on eligibility criteria as well as funding, application, and award procedures
Application
This is an online application that routes through Qualtrics for electronic signatures.
Recipients to be named
Grant Recipient Archive
First-Year Honors Mentor Program Grant (2019– )
University Honors Program Grant (2005– )
Stewart Research Award (2005– )
Honors Student Enrichment Grant (2018– )
Dr. Robert M. Melampy Grant (2019– )
Chi-Wai Ho Principles of Community Award